Sly Cooper:Back In the Game
by dragonthief
Summary: Just another pre-telling of an upcoming adventure. Rating is for language and possible suggestive themes.
1. Chapter 1: Cooper Confesses

**After reading an article on Thieves In Time, in a magazine, I couldn't get this idea out of my head. **

**I don't own Sly Cooper or the rest of the gang.**

_Chapter 1: Cooper Confesses_

Late evening in Paris. The sun had set. The dark had crept over the city. The crisp breeze gently ruffled the grey fur of a notorious master thief.

Sly Cooper had spent the last year living a lie. It wasn't a big lie, not by his reasoning. Just a harmless little fib, really. One that had kept him out of prison, and had landed him in the arms of the woman of his dreams.

Their relationship had started out innocently enough. A little harmless flirting. A quick kiss. But, after a while he found himself doing more than just teasing and ogling her. His little crush had become a desire for something more.

Life with the object of his obsession had been better than he ever could have imagined it. And all it had cost him was his family legacy.

A blow taken to shield a woman who had devoted her life to putting criminals (like himself) behind bars, had given him an opportunity that he just couldn't pass up. All he had to do was play possum, and fake amnesia. Imagine his surprise when she responded with a lie of her own.

In the beginning it had seemed worth the sacrifice. But, the guilt had been eating at him. Reminding him that his untruth could be exposed. That everything they had built together could fall apart.

Inspector Carmelita Montoya Fox was smart, beautiful, passionate, and hot-tempered. She could go from dead calm to erupting volcano quicker than a blink of the eye. The thought of losing her terrified him. But, the fear didn't help ease his feeling of loss for his old life. He missed thieving. He missed the excitement of the prowl. He missed his family.

Then the inevitable had happened. A frantic visit from an hysterical turtle, had changed the game.

Bentley had been so keyed up, that Sly couldn't make sense of what he was trying to say. Penelope, being the calmer of the two, had to translate the turtle's almost psychotic rambling to help the former thief understand the direness of the situation.

The contents of the Thievious Raccoonus had disappeared. They had vanished from right before Bentley's eyes. Someone was tampering with history. The Cooper Clan was being erased.

But, there was a plan. Bentley and Penelope had spent the last year working on a very special project. A time machine.

That's how the raccoon had gotten to this point.

Sly was perched atop a flagpole that protruded from the building across the street from his target. Watching the guards on their rounds through his binocucom, he smirked. "Bentley are you sure this is the place? If that dagger's in there, shouldn't there be more security?"

The turtle's nasally voice crackled through the thief's ear piece. "Don't let appearances fool you. Our relic is in there. Those guards aren't the only protection the museum has." Clearing his throat he added, "If you'll notice the third floor, fourth window from the left, I'm sending your binocucom a marker. Look really closely you'll see how difficult acquiring our target is going to be."

The raccoon zoomed in on the marked location. Shock overtook his sense of balance. Wobbling unsteadily, his feet lost their grip on the flagpole. Natural reflexes taking over, his arm shot out, hooking his cane on the pole he had just fallen from.

"Sly, are you still there?" The wheelchair bound turtle getting concerned at the raccoon's silence.

"I'm here. Just a little out of practice." Pulling himself up, and easing back onto the nearby ledge, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Bentley rolled his wheelchair through the tunnels of the sewer. The frequent beeping of his modified tracking device indicating the closeness of his target. Wheeling up to the security terminal, plugging his laptop into the system, a few seconds of furious keyboard gymnastics, and "Jackpot!"

"Sly get ready. Murray are you in place?"

Cracking his knuckles, and gripping the steering wheel, the pink hippo's voice barely contained his excitement, " 'The Murray' is always ready for action! Me and the Van are just waiting for you guys!"

Bentley keyed a few final commands into the security system, "Sly, the system is down. Get moving."

Easing along the ledge, the raccoon was thrilled at how quickly it all came back to him. Thieving was truly in his blood. Reaching the corner of the building, he grasped his cane between his teeth, and firmly gripped the drain pipe situated there. A quick climb and he was on the roof. Breaking into a sprint, he moved toward the edge and leapt to the utility wire that stretched across the street to the museum.

He was always amazed that no one ever realized that these wires were such a security problem. They didn't spare on the cameras, lasers, and armed guards. But they never secured these lines. Not that he was complaining about it, his job was exciting enough without having to find a different route to his goal.

Close enough to the balcony below, he jumped into a front somersault that landed him deftly on the rail. "This is just too easy." Hopping off the rail and crouching low to check that the coast was clear, he crept to the window. Not seeing any obstacles in his way, he quickly entered and checked his binocucom. Keeping his voice low, he announced, "Bentley, I'm in."

"I can see you. I've got control of the surveillance cameras. The dagger's case is just around the corner. Be careful Sly. There's a guard making his round, he's heading your way."

Ducking behind a potted plant, the daring thief narrowly avoided exposure. Holding his breath as the guard passed, Sly tightened his grip on his cane. As the guard reached the end of the hall, he turned and shined his flashlight in Sly's direction. When the light paused on the raccoon's hiding place, he felt a slight twinge of panic. He couldn't get caught. The entire Cooper family history was at stake. Just as he was about to make a mad dash for the dagger, the guard turned back around and continued on his way.

Not wanting to wait around for another surprise, Sly emerged from hiding and quietly, moved towards the display case. Removing a thick towel from the red bag on his back, he quickly draped it over the glass case. A quick swing of his cane, (the towel muffling the sound of shattering glass), and the relic was free for the taking.

"Bentley, I've got it. Head for the van, I'll meet you there." Wrapping the small sword in the towel, and stowing it in his backpack, the thief was now ready to make his escape.

Before he could take the first step toward his leave, he felt something trying to burn it's way through his skull.


	2. Chapter 2: Lies Revealed

**This chapter and several others are overdue. Life has been busy, and I have been lazy. So, to the few people who actually read my stories, I apologize for the long wait. **

Sly Cooper could feel an intense heat trying to burn through the back of his head. The former reformed thief recognized the feeling. Time hadn't removed the memory of the sensation.

The source of the heat didn't need an introduction. But, almost on cue he heard a deep predatory growl.

"Freeze Criminal!" The source of heat the thief felt, being of course, Inspector Carmelita Fox's death glare.

The fox was trembling with rage. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her raccoon was standing right in front of her. He was wearing his old thieving uniform. He was back at his old habits. He had lied.

The raccoon turned around to face his girlfriend… former girlfriend. "Hi baby. I uh, didn't know you were patrolling this part of town tonight." Now that he could see how angry she looked, his heart stalled. He had seen her upset before. But, the murderous rage in the vixen's eyes was something new. She had chased him for years. They had finally caught one another, and been in a romantic relationship for almost a year. In all that time he had seen her angry,(on more than one occasion he had been the source of her frustration.) Never had he actually thought she would kill him. However, if the look in her eyes was any indication, he was in serious trouble. His mind was racing. The clever raccoon thief was desperately trying to think of something to say to defuse the situation. He opened his mouth to speak, but words failed him.

Seeing the former object of her affection at a loss for words, the Interpol officer snapped out of her trance. Struggling to keep her emotions in check, Carmelita spat, "Hold it right there, Ringtail!" Taking a few short steps toward the stunned raccoon, yet keeping enough space between them so that he couldn't try anything, the auburn fox softened her gaze. Lowering her pistol, she sighed. "How long have you been lying to me, Sly?"

Stepping forward slowly, his hand reaching for hers. "Carmelita, it's not what you think."

"That's close enough Cooper!" Snarling and backing away from him, she raised her pistol. "Enough lies! I want the truth. I deserve that much!"

The hurt look on her face, was more painful for him than any blast he had ever taken from her shock pistol.

Seeing such a strong woman, look so defeated made him feel like the biggest jerk in the world. Hoping that she would at least hear him out, he confessed. "From the beginning. I never lost my memory."

Everything had been a lie. Their entire relationship. The last year of her life, the happiness, the love. Nothing but lies. "You used me to stay out of jail? Why didn't you just run off after you were free? We've been living together, sharing a bed. Did you just want to see how big a fool you could make out of me?"

"Carmelita, sweetheart, it's not like that. I faked amnesia to get close to you. I knew you couldn't date a thief. I saw an opportunity to be with you, and I took it." He paused for a moment, waiting for a response. The fox's silence was deafening, so he continued. "You wanted the same thing. You lied too. My lie wouldn't have worked without yours."

The policewoman's blood was beginning to boil again. "Don't blame this on me! I'm not the one that started all of this! How long did you think you could get away with it?"

"Carmelita I'm not blaming you. I love you. I would've feigned amnesia for the rest of my life just to spend it with you. I love you more than anything else in the world."

Her voice was starting to crack. "Then why do this? Why here? Why now?"

"I can't explain everything right now. But, if you'll just give me a chance I'll make it up to you I promise."

"Shut it Cooper!" The shock pistol whirred to life. "I've heard enough of your lies already! Drop the cane, turn around, and lace your fingers behind your head!"

"Carmelita, I don't have time to argue. Please trust me."

"Trust you? Ha! You've evaded arrest long enough! I won't be fooled again. Drop the.."

Inspector… are you alright?

The fox swayed, eyes rolling back into her head, and her limp body pitching forward.

Lunging forward to catch his love before she hit the floor, the nimble thief swept her up into his arms. Looking up from the vixen's unconscious form, "I thought you were waiting in the van with Murray."

Stepping from behind a statue, the nasally voice of the Cooper Gang's resident genius cautiously spoke up. "When I noticed you weren't behind me, I got concerned. It occurred to me that you might have run into Inspector Fox." He pause for a moment, then added, "When I pointed her out to you earlier, I thought you might be a little more careful."

"What can I say, we're drawn to each other."

"Yeah, sure. If you'll just put Carmelita down we can get going." The turtle turned to leave.

"Bentley, I can't just leave her here."

The turtle's wheelchair screeched to a halt. "Are you insane?!"

"Taking her along may be the only way to convince her that I'm not the world's worst boyfriend. I've already betrayed her trust, I can't just knock her out and abandon her. Bentley I can't lose her. I lied to her for an entire year. Taking her along may be the only way to salvage our relationship."

"Sly when she wakes up, she's going to be angry. Very angry! She's dangerous when she's angry."

"Please Bentley. I promise she won't be any trouble." Sensing his friend's reluctance he grinned, and to lighten the mood added, "I'll feed and walk her you won't have to do anything."

The turtle rubbed his temples and lowered his head in defeat. Giving the lovesick raccoon a stern look he sighed. "Under one condition."

The thief frowned and quirked his brow. "What's that?"

Extending his wheelchair's robotic arm he procured the sleeping vixen's pistol. "That she be relieved of her weapon." Unloading the pistol he smirked. "One more thing..."

"Wizard, you name it."

"If she tries to kill me for hitting her with a sleep dart, I'll make sure to mention that comment about walking and feeding her."

"You worry too much. Once you get to know her you'll see that she's really just a cuddly teddy bear."

"Just come on. We've got to get to the van, Murray is waiting."


End file.
